Connecticut Broadcasters Association Offers EAS Assist

WILLIMANTIC, CONN.: The Connecticut
Broadcasters Association is offering to help stations in the state with their
EAS CAP compliance costs--whether or not the stations are CBA members.

The association has set up a group purchase plan of Sage alerting gear from
equipment dealer SCMS, with an eye toward helping broadcasters comply with the
new Common Alerting Protocol.

CBA President Mike Rice told Radio World,
“CBA is subsidizing this discount along with a group purchase discount from
SCMS. We did this on the recommendation of our Connecticut State Emergency
Communications Committee.” Rice said the committee “felt strongly, based on 20
years of managing EAS,” that the system would be more robust and reliable if
the maximum number of stations used the same encoder/decoders.

Stations that participate will get a net discount off list price through the
combined funding and package purchase. The subsidy is for equipment sold to
stations licensed in Connecticut and must be shipped to and installed in that
state. Orders must be placed with SCMS by April 29.

Wayne Mulligan was key in putting the program together; he is chair of the
Connecticut SECC and also vice preisdent of emergency services of CBA. He said
any station in the state can participate. “With the upgrade to CAP-capable
equipment being mandated for all stations, we thought that this would be a
perfect time for the CBA to lend a hand to all the stations in Connecticut to
make this upgrade, not just the CBA member stations.”

Mulligan said the SECC is in the process of rewriting the state’s EAS plan and
is coordinating with other New England SECCs with the idea of having the plan
be a template that could be used by others.

The deal is expected to total 70 to 80 units of the Sage Alerting Digital Endec
Model 3644. SCMS said the agreement “reflects more than a year’s prep work with
SCMS’ Jim Peck participating in CBA panels, events and meetings. The planning
advanced rapidly once the CAP initial rollout date was set at last year’s NAB.
We welcome the opportunity to craft and conclude similar arrangements with
other groups.” (Peck is a photo contributor to Radio World, which was not involved in the transaction and learned
about it from the CBA.) -- from Radio World